OCEAN CITY- The fastest game on two feet takes center
stage in and around Ocean City this weekend when some of the top men’s and
women’s teams in the country descend on the resort area for the 17th
Annual Ocean City Lacrosse Classic.

The annual tournament got underway yesterday with opening
round games in the Masters and Grand Masters divisions at the Northern
Worcester Athletic Complex in Berlin and the Most Blessed Sacrament School.
Northside Park in Ocean City continues to be tournament headquarters and most
of the action all weekend will take place there, but because of the growth of
the tournament in recent years, some early round games will be played at the
other venues. For example, most of the early round games in the Women’s Elite
Division will take place at the downtown Ocean City fields at 4th
Street.

From modest beginnings in 1993, the Ocean City Lacrosse
Classic has grown to become one of the sport’s most highly anticipated events.
Last year, a record 100 teams participated, but that number has swelled to 105
this year including 49 men’s elite teams, 36 women’s elite teams, 13 men’s
masters teams and seven grand master’s teams.

Highlighting the event each year is the men’s elite
division, which features some of the top collegiate and professional players in
the country. Last year, after around the clock games all weekend, defending
champion Smartlink defeated Team Diesel, 11-9, in the championship game. No
less impressive last year was the women’s elite division, which also features
some of the top female lacrosse players in the country. Last year, the Naturals
defeated Hero’s, 9-7, to win the championship.

The action was a little slower but no less exciting in the
Masters and Grand Masters divisions, which featured teams made up of some of
the top professional and collegiate players from years past. A For the record,
the Greene Turtle-Fells Point won the masters championship last year while
Harley Davidson took the grand masters title.

Masters and Grand Masters action continues today in
Berlin, while the early round action in the Men’s and Women’s Divisions got
started this morning. The games will go on night and day throughout the weekend

and culminate with title games in each division on Sunday.

While

the action on the field is clearly the big draw, the resort area will become
the center of the lacrosse universe throughout the weekend with food and drink
vendors, lacrosse equipment and clothing vendors and live music, turning the
athletic complex into a weekend-long celebration of the sport.

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